[House Report 107-199]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Rept. 107-199
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session Part 1
======================================================================
VIET NAM HUMAN RIGHTS ACT
_______
September 5, 2001.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hyde, from the Committee on International Relations, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2368]
The Committee on International Relations, to whom was
referred the bill (H.R. 2368) to promote freedom and democracy
in Viet Nam, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as
amended do pass.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
The Amendment........................................... 2
Purpose and Summary..................................... 7
Background and Need for the Legislation................. 7
Hearings................................................ 9
Committee Consideration................................. 9
Committee Oversight Findings............................ 9
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures............... 9
Committee Cost Estimate................................. 9
Performance Goals and Objectives........................ 10
Constitutional Authority Statement...................... 10
Section-by-Section Analysis............................. 10
New Advisory Committees................................. 12
The Amendment
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Viet Nam Human
Rights Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Purpose.
TITLE II--PROMOTION OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIET NAM
Subtitle A--Prohibition on Nonhumanitarian Assistance to the Government
of Viet Nam
Sec. 201. Bilateral nonhumanitarian assistance.
Sec. 202. Multilateral nonhumanitarian assistance.
Subtitle B--Assistance to Support Democracy in Viet Nam
Sec. 211. Assistance.
Subtitle C--United States Public Diplomacy
Sec. 221. Radio Free Asia transmissions to Viet Nam.
Sec. 222. United States educational and cultural exchange programs with
Viet Nam.
Subtitle D--United States Refugee Policy
Sec. 232. Refugee resettlement for nationals of Viet Nam.
Subtitle E--Annual Report on Progress Toward Freedom and Democracy in
Viet Nam
Sec. 241. Annual report.
TITLE I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Viet Nam is a one-party state, ruled and controlled by
the Vietnamese Communist Party.
(2) The Government of Viet Nam denies the people of Viet
Nam the right to change their government and prohibits
independent political, social, and labor organizations.
(3)(A) The Government of Viet Nam consistently pursues a
policy of harassment, discrimination, and intimidation, and
sometimes of imprisonment and other forms of detention, against
those who peacefully express dissent from government or party
policy.
(B) Recent victims of such mistreatment, which violates the
rights to freedom of expression and association recognized in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, include Dr. Nguyen
Dan Que, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Giang, General Tran Do, Most
Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Most Venerable Thich Quang Do,
Father Nguyen Van Ly, numerous leaders of the Hoa Hao Buddhist
Church and of independent Protestant churches, and an
undetermined number of members of the Montagnard ethnic
minority groups who participated in peaceful demonstrations in
the Central Highlands of Viet Nam during February 2001.
(4) The Government of Viet Nam systematically deprives its
citizens of the fundamental right to freedom of religion.
Although some freedom of worship is permitted, believers are
forbidden to participate in religious activities except under
circumstances rigidly defined and controlled by the government:
(A) In 1999 the Government issued a Decree
Concerning Religious Activities, which declared in
pertinent part that ``[a]ll activities using religious
belief in order to oppose the State of the Socialist
Republic of Viet Nam, to prevent the believers from
carrying out civic responsibilities, to sabotage the
union of all the people, to against the healthy culture
of our nation, as well as superstitious activities,
will be punished in conformity with the law''.
(B) The Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam (UCBV),
the largest religious denomination in the country, has
been declared illegal by the Government, and over the
last twenty-five years its clergy have often been
imprisoned and subjected to other forms of persecution.
The Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church, 83-year-
old Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, has been detained
for 21 years in a ruined temple in an isolated area of
central Viet Nam. Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, the
Executive President of the Unified Buddhist Church, has
also been in various forms of detention for many years,
and was recently rearrested and placed under house
arrest after he had proposed to bring Most Venerable
Thich Huyen Quang to Saigon for medical treatment.
(C) The Hoa Hao Buddhist Church was also declared
to be illegal until 1999, when the Government
established an organization which purports to govern
the Hoa Hao. According to the United States Commission
on International Religious Freedom, ``[t]his
organization is made up almost entirely of Communist
Party members and apparently is not recognized as
legitimate by the vast majority of Hoa Haos . . .
[n]evertheless, [this government-sponsored
organization] has sought to control all Hoa Hao
religious activity, particularly at the Hoa Hao
village, which is the center of Hoa Hao religious
life''. Hoa Hao believers who do not recognize the
legitimacy of the government organization are denied
the right to visit the Hoa Hao village, to conduct
traditional religious celebrations, or to display Hoa
Hao symbols. Many have been arrested and subjected to
administrative detention, and several Hoa Hao have been
sentenced to prison terms for protesting these denials
of religious freedom.
(D) Independent Protestants, most of whom are
members of ethnic minority groups, are subjected to
particularly harsh treatment by the Government of Viet
Nam. According to the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom, such treatment
includes ``police raids on homes and house churches,
detention, imprisonment, confiscation of religious and
personal property, physical and psychological abuse,
and fines for engaging in unapproved religious
activities (such as collective worship, public
religious expression and distribution of religious
literature, and performing baptisms, marriages, or
funeral services) . . . [i]n addition, it is reported
that ethnic Hmong Protestants have been forced by local
officials to agree to abandon their faith''.
(E) Other religious organizations, such as the
Catholic Church, are formally recognized by the
Government but are subjected to pervasive regulation
which violates the right to freedom of religion. For
instance, the Catholic Church is forbidden to appoint
its own bishops without Government consent, which is
frequently denied, to accept seminarians without
specific official permission, and to profess Catholic
doctrines which are inconsistent with Government
policy. A Catholic priest, Father Nguyen Van Ly, was
arrested in March 2001 and remains in detention after
submitting written testimony to the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom.
(F) The Government has also confiscated numerous
churches, temples, and other properties belonging to
religious organizations. The vast majority of these
properties--even those belonging to religious
organizations formally recognized by the Government--
have never been returned.
(5) Since 1975 the Government of Viet Nam has persecuted
veterans of the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam and other
Vietnamese who had opposed the Viet Cong insurgency and the
North Vietnamese invasion of South Viet Nam. Such persecution
typically included substantial terms in ``re-education camps'',
where detainees were often subjected to torture and other forms
of physical abuse, and in which many died. Re-education camp
survivors and their families were often forced into internal
exile in ``New Economic Zones''. Many of these former allies of
the United States, as well as members of their families,
continue until the present day to suffer various forms of
harassment and discrimination, including denial of basic social
benefits and exclusion from higher education and employment.
(6)(A) The Government of Viet Nam has been particularly
harsh in its treatment of members of the Montagnard ethnic
minority groups of the Central Highlands of Viet Nam, who were
the first line in the defense of South Viet Nam against
invasion from the North and who fought courageously beside
members of the Special Forces of the United States Army,
suffering disproportionately heavy casualties, and saving the
lives of many of their American and Vietnamese comrades-in-
arms.
(B) Since 1975 the Montagnard peoples have been singled out
for severe repression, in part because of their past
association with the United States and in part because their
strong commitment to their traditional way of life and to their
Christian religion is regarded as inconsistent with the
absolute loyalty and control demanded by the Communist system.
(C) In February 2001 several thousand Montagnards
participated in a series of peaceful demonstrations throughout
the Central Highlands, demanding religious freedom and
restoration of their confiscated lands, and the Government
responded by closing off the Central Highlands and sending in
military forces, tanks, and helicopter gunships.
(D) Credible reports by refugees who have escaped to
Cambodia indicate that the Government has executed some
participants in the demonstrations and has subjected others to
imprisonment, torture, and other forms of physical abuse.
(E) The Government of Viet Nam has also taken steps to
prevent further Montagnards from escaping, and there are
credible reports that Vietnamese security forces in Cambodia
are offering bounties for the surrender of Montagnard asylum
seekers.
(7) The Government of Viet Nam has also persecuted members
of other ethnic minority groups, including the Khmer Krom from
the Mekong Delta, many of whom fought alongside United States
military personnel during the Viet Nam war and whose Hinayana
Buddhist religion is not among those recognized by the
Government.
(8) The Government of Viet Nam also engages in or condones
serious violations of the rights of workers. In August 1997,
the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that child
labor exploitation is on the rise in Viet Nam with tens of
thousands of children under 15 years of age being subjected to
such exploitation. The government's official labor export
program also has subjected workers, many of whom are women, to
involuntary servitude, debt bondage, and other forms of abuse,
and the reaction of government officials to worker complaints
of such abuse has been to threaten the workers with punishment
if they do not desist in their complaints.
(9)(A) United States refugee resettlement programs for
Vietnamese nationals, including the Orderly Departure Program
(ODP), the Resettlement Opportunities for Returning Vietnamese
(ROVR) program, and resettlement of boat people from refugee
camps throughout Southeast Asia, were authorized by law in
order to rescue Vietnamese nationals who have suffered
persecution on account of their wartime associations with the
United States, as well as those who currently have a well-
founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion,
nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular
social group.
(B) In general, these programs have served their purpose
well. However, many refugees who were eligible for these
programs were unfairly denied or excluded, in some cases by
vindictive or corrupt Communist officials who controlled access
to the programs, and in others by United States personnel who
imposed unduly restrictive interpretations of program criteria.
These unfairly excluded refugees include some of those with the
most compelling cases, including many Montagnard combat
veterans and their families.
(10) The Government of Viet Nam systematically jams
broadcasts by Radio Free Asia, an independent broadcast service
funded by the United States in order to provide news and
entertainment to the people of countries in Asia whose
governments deny the right to freedom of expression and of the
press.
(11) In 1995 the Governments of the United States and Viet
Nam announced the ``normalization'' of diplomatic relations. In
1998 then-President Clinton waived the application of section
402 of the Trade Act of 1974 (commonly known as the ``Jackson-
Vanik Amendment''), which restricts economic assistance to
countries with non-market economies whose governments also
restrict freedom of emigration. In 1999 the Governments of the
United States and Viet Nam announced ``agreement in principle''
on a bilateral trade agreement. This agreement was signed in
2000 and has been presented to Congress for approval or
disapproval.
(12) The Congress and the American people are united in
their determination that the extension or expansion of trade
relations with a country whose government engages in serious
and systematic violations of fundamental human rights must not
be construed as a statement of approval or complacency about
such practices. The promotion of freedom and democracy around
the world--and particularly for people who have suffered in
large part because of their past associations with the United
States and because they share our values--is and must continue
to be a central objective of United States foreign policy.
SEC. 102. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to promote the development of freedom
and democracy in Viet Nam.
TITLE II--PROMOTION OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIET NAM
Subtitle A--Prohibition on Nonhumanitarian Assistance to the Government
of Viet Nam
SEC. 201. BILATERAL NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.
(a) Assistance.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (b),
United States nonhumanitarian assistance may not be provided to
the Government of Viet Nam--
(A) for fiscal year 2002 unless not later than 30
days after the date of the enactment of this Act the
President determines and certifies to Congress that the
requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of
paragraph (2) have been met during the 12-month period
ending on the date of the certification; and
(B) for each subsequent fiscal year unless the
President determines and certifies to Congress in the
most recent annual report submitted pursuant to section
241 that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through
(D) of paragraph (2) have been met during the 12-month
period covered by the report.
(2) Requirements.--The requirements of this paragraph are
that--
(A) the Government of Viet Nam has made substantial
progress toward releasing all political and religious
prisoners from imprisonment, house arrest, and other
forms of detention;
(B) the Government of Viet Nam has made substantial
progress toward respecting the right to freedom of
religion, including the right to participate in
religious activities and institutions without
interference by or involvement of the Government;
(C) the Government of Viet Nam has made substantial
progress toward respecting the human rights of members
of ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands or
elsewhere in Viet Nam; and
(D)(i) neither any official of the Government of
Viet Nam nor any agency or entity wholly or partly
owned by the Government of Viet Nam was complicit in a
severe form of trafficking in persons; or
(ii) the Government of Viet Nam took all
appropriate steps to end any such complicity and hold
such official, agency, or entity fully accountable for
its conduct.
(b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply for any fiscal year
with respect to the provision of United States nonhumanitarian
assistance for any program or activity for which such assistance was
provided to the Government of Viet Nam for fiscal year 2001 in an
amount not to exceed the amount so provided for fiscal year 2001.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Severe form of trafficking in persons.--The term
``severe form of trafficking in persons'' means any activity
described in section 103(8) of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-386 (114 Stat. 1470); 22
U.S.C. 7102(8)).
(2) United states nonhumanitarian assistance.--The term
``United States nonhumanitarian assistance'' means--
(A) any assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (including programs under title IV of chapter 2
of part I of that Act, relating to the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation), other than--
(i) disaster relief assistance, including
any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of
that Act;
(ii) assistance which involves the
provision of food (including monetization of
food) or medicine; and
(iii) assistance for refugees;
(B) sales, or financing on any terms, under the
Arms Export Control Act; and
(C) financing under the Export-Import Bank Act of
1945.
SEC. 202. MULTILATERAL NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States
Executive Director of each multilateral development bank and of the
International Monetary Fund to use the voice, vote, and influence of
the United States to deny any loan or other utilization of the funds of
such bank or institution (other than for humanitarian assistance) to
Viet Nam for fiscal year 2002 and each subsequent fiscal year unless
the President determines and certifies to Congress for such fiscal year
that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section
201(a)(2) have been met.
Subtitle B--Assistance to Support Democracy in Viet Nam
SEC. 211. ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--The President is authorized to provide assistance,
through appropriate nongovernmental organizations, for the support of
individuals and organizations to promote human rights and nonviolent
democratic change in Viet Nam.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the President to carry out subsection (a) $2,000,000
for each of the fiscal years 2002 and 2003.
Subtitle C--United States Public Diplomacy
SEC. 221. RADIO FREE ASIA TRANSMISSIONS TO VIET NAM.
(a) Policy of the United States.--It is the policy of the United
States to take such measures as are necessary to overcome the jamming
of Radio Free Asia by the Government of Viet Nam.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to such amounts
as are otherwise authorized to be appropriated for the Broadcasting
Board of Governors, there are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out the policy under subsection (a) $9,100,000 for the fiscal year 2002
and $1,100,000 for the fiscal year 2003.
SEC. 222. UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH
VIET NAM.
It is the policy of the United States that programs of educational
and cultural exchange with Viet Nam should actively promote progress
toward freedom and democracy in Viet Nam by providing opportunities to
Vietnamese nationals from a wide range of occupations and perspectives
to see freedom and democracy in action and, also, by ensuring that
Vietnamese nationals who have already demonstrated a commitment to
these values are included in such programs.
Subtitle D--United States Refugee Policy
SEC. 232. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR NATIONALS OF VIET NAM.
(a) Policy of the United States.--It is the policy of the United
States to offer refugee resettlement to nationals of Viet Nam
(including members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups) who were
eligible for the Orderly Departure Program or any other United States
refugee program and who were deemed ineligible due to administrative
error or who for reasons beyond the control of such individuals
(including the inability to pay bribes demanded by officials of the
Government of Viet Nam) were unable to apply for such programs in
compliance with deadlines imposed by the Department of State.
(b) Authorized Activity.--Of the amounts authorized to be
appropriated to the Department of State for Migration and Refugee
Assistance for each of the fiscal years 2001, 2002, and 2003, such sums
as may be necessary are authorized to be made available for the
protection (including resettlement in appropriate cases) of Vietnamese
refugees and asylum seekers, including Montagnards in Cambodia.
Subtitle E--Annual Report on Progress Toward Freedom and Democracy in
Viet Nam
SEC. 241. ANNUAL REPORT.
Not later than May 31 of each year, the Secretary of State shall
submit to Congress a report for the 12-month period ending on the date
of submission of the report, on the following:
(1) The determination and certification of the President
that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of
section 201(a)(2) have been met, if applicable.
(2) Efforts by the United States Government to secure
transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in countries in close
geographical proximity to Viet Nam in accordance with section
221(a).
(3) Efforts to ensure that programs with Viet Nam promote
the policy set forth in section 222 and with section 102 of the
Human Rights, Refugee, and Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act
of 1996 regarding participation in programs of educational and
cultural exchange.
(4) Steps taken to carry out the policy under section
232(a).
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 2368, the Viet Nam Human Rights Act, is designed to
ensure that the promotion of freedom and democracy will be a
central element in U.S. policy toward Viet Nam.
First, the Act contains an honest and detailed assessment of
the human rights situation in Viet Nam. It describes violations
by the Government of Viet Nam of the rights to freedom of
expression, association, and religion, and the rights of
workers, as well as persecution of ethnic minorities including
the Montagnards and of persons associated with the U.S. prior
to 1975.
The Act conditions future increases in foreign assistance
(other than humanitarian assistance) to the government of Viet
Nam in each fiscal year after FY 2001 on a finding by the
President that the government of Viet Nam has made
``substantial progress'' during the previous year toward
meeting certain human rights benchmarks.
The Act also authorizes assistance to nongovernmental
organizations committed to promoting freedom and democracy in
Viet Nam; supports efforts to overcome the jamming of Radio
Free Asia by the government of Viet Nam; requires efforts by
the State Department to ensure that U.S. cultural and
educational exchange programs are open to people who share our
values, not just to Vietnamese government and Communist Party
officials and persons close to such officials; and declares it
to be the policy of the United States to offer refugee
resettlement to residents of Viet Nam who meet the statutory
criteria for U.S. refugee programs but have been wrongly
excluded from such programs.
Background and Need for the Legislation
Viet Nam is a one-party state, ruled and controlled by the
Vietnamese Communist Party. The Government of Viet Nam denies
the people of Viet Nam the right to change their government and
prohibits independent political, social, and labor
organizations. The Government consistently pursues a policy of
harassment, discrimination, and intimidation, and sometimes of
imprisonment and other forms of detention, against those who
peacefully express dissent from government or party policy. The
Government also systematically deprives its citizens of the
fundamental right to freedom of religion. Although some freedom
of worship is permitted, believers are forbidden to participate
in religious activities except under circumstances rigidly
defined and controlled by the government.
Since 1975 the Government of Viet Nam has persecuted veterans
of the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam and other Vietnamese
who had opposed the Viet Cong insurgency and the North
Vietnamese invasion of South Viet Nam. Such persecution
typically included substantial terms in `re-education camps',
where detainees were often subjected to torture and other forms
of physical abuse, and in which many died. Re-education camp
survivors and their families were often forced into internal
exile in `New Economic Zones'. Many of these former allies of
the United States, as well as members of their families,
continue until the present day to suffer various forms of
harassment and discrimination, including denial of basic social
benefits and exclusion from higher education and employment.
The Government of Viet Nam has been particularly harsh in its
treatment of members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups
of the Central Highlands of Viet Nam, who were the first line
in the defense of South Viet Nam against invasion from the
North and who fought courageously beside members of the Special
Forces of the United States Army, suffering disproportionately
heavy casualties, and saving the lives of many of their
American and Vietnamese comrades-in-arms. Since 1975 the
Montagnard peoples have been singled out for severe repression,
in part because of their past association with the United
States and in part because their strong commitment to their
traditional way of life and to their Christian religion is
regarded as inconsistent with the absolute loyalty and control
demanded by the Communist system. The Government of Viet Nam
has also persecuted members of other ethnic minority groups,
including the Khmer Krom from the Mekong Delta, many of whom
fought alongside United States military personnel during the
Viet Nam war and whose Hinayana Buddhist religion is not among
those recognized by the Government.
The Government of Viet Nam also engages in or condones
serious violations of the rights of workers. In August 1997,
the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that child
labor exploitation is on the rise in Viet Nam with tens of
thousands of children under 15 years of age being subjected to
such exploitation. The government's official labor export
program also has subjected workers, many of whom are women, to
involuntary servitude, debt bondage, and other forms of abuse,
and the reaction of government officials to worker complaints
of such abuse has been to threaten the workers with punishment
if they do not desist in their complaints. The Government
systematically jams broadcasts by Radio Free Asia, an
independent broadcast service funded by the United States in
order to provide news and entertainment to the people of
countries in Asia whose governments deny the right to freedom
of expression and of the press.
Enactment of comprehensive Viet Nam human rights legislation
is particularly important in light of pending Congressional
consideration of a resolution approving the U.S.-Viet Nam
Bilateral Trade Agreement. Passage of H.R. 2368
contemporaneously with approval of the trade agreement will
send a balanced message to Hanoi and to the world: that the
United States wishes to have free trade with Viet Nam, in part
because we believe that in the long run trade will help to open
up Vietnamese society, but that approval of expanded trade
relations should not be construed as a United States ``stamp of
approval'' of Hanoi's human rights record. This nuanced message
is particularly important in light of recent government
crackdowns on Buddhist and Christian religious believers and on
members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups.
Hearings
The Committee and its subcommittees have held a number of
hearings on the issues addressed by H.R. 2368. Most recently,
on May 24, 2001, the Committee held a hearing on the Annual
Report of the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom, at which testimony was taken on recent
actions by the government of Viet Nam against believers and
clergy of the Catholic, Protestant, Unified Buddhist, and Hoa
Hao Buddhist churches. The Committee's Subcommittee on East
Asian and Pacific Affairs held a hearing on September 19, 2000,
on the U.S.-Viet Nam bilateral trade agreement, at which the
testimony also assessed the government's human rights record
and mechanisms to seek improvements in this record. The
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights has
held a number of hearings on human rights in Viet Nam and on
United States programs for the resettlement of Vietnamese
refugees, most recently a hearing on March 3, 1999, in which
several witnesses addressed deficiencies in the operation of
these programs that were described as resulting in the
systematic wrongful exclusion of persons who had been
persecuted for their wartime associations with the United
States.
Committee Consideration
On August 1, 2001, the Committee met in open session and
ordered favorably reported the bill H.R. 2368 with an amendment
by unanimous consent, a quorum being present.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of House Rule XIII is inapplicable because
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or
increased tax expenditures.
Committee Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee believes that
the bill will have no significant net cost either for the
current fiscal year or for the next 5 fiscal years. The bill
authorizes expenditures in the total amount of $16.2 million
over the next 3 fiscal years for democracy promotion and for
enhanced transmission facilities to overcome the jamming of
Radio Free Asia, but the bill also restricts expenditures for
nonhumanitarian foreign assistance to the government of Viet
Nam which, in the absence of such restrictions, could
substantially exceed the expenditures authorized by the bill.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The bill will promote democracy and human rights in Viet Nam,
including the release of political and religious prisoners,
respect for the right to freedom of religion and for the rights
of members of ethnic minority groups, and an end to government
complicity in severe forms of trafficking in human beings. The
bill will also promote efforts by the United States to end the
jamming of Radio Free Asia, to ensure wider and more diverse
access to educational and cultural exchange programs with Viet
Nam, and to resettle refugees who have been wrongly excluded
from United States programs for which they are eligible.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for
this legislation in article I, section 8, clauses 1, 3, and 18
of the Constitution.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short Title; Table of Contents. The Act may be
cited as the ``Viet Nam Human Rights Act.''
Title I--General Provisions
Section 101. Findings. This section describes violations by
the Government of Viet Nam of the rights to freedom of
expression, association, and religion, and the rights of
workers, as well as persecution of Montagnards, other ethnic
minorities, and persons associated with the U.S. prior to 1975.
The section also summarizes the history of U.S. policy toward
Vietnamese refugees and of ``normalization'' of U.S.-Viet Nam
diplomatic and trade relations. Finally, the section concludes
that Congress and the American people are united in their
determination that expansion of trade relations should not be
construed as approval or complacency about human rights
violations, and that the promotion of freedom and democracy
must be central to U.S. foreign policy.
Section 102. Purpose. This section provides that the purpose
of this Act is to promote the development of freedom and
democracy in Viet Nam.
Title II--Promotion of Freedom and Democracy in Viet Nam
Subtitle A--Prohibition on Nonhumanitarian Assistance to the Government
of Viet Nam
Section 201. Bilateral Nonhumanitarian Assistance. This
provision denies any increase in bilateral nonhumanitarian
foreign assistance to the government of Viet Nam in any fiscal
year, above the amount of such assistance received by such
government in fiscal year 2001, unless the President certifies
that during such year the Government of Viet Nam has made
substantial progress toward compliance with certain human
rights benchmarks, including: release of all political and
religious prisoners from all forms of detention including
imprisonment, house arrest, etc; respect for the right to
freedom of religion, including the right to participate in
religious organizations not connected to the government of Viet
Nam; respect for the rights of members of ethnic minority
groups in the Central Highlands and elsewhere; and an end to
the complicity of entities and officials of the Government of
Viet Nam in severe forms of trafficking in persons, as defined
by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
Section 202. Multilateral Nonhumanitarian Assistance. This
section requires that the United States use its voice and vote
to oppose nonhumanitarian loans and other extensions of funds
from international financial institutions until the President
certifies that these human rights benchmarks have been met.
This section is in the jurisdiction of the Committee on
Financial Services, which may report an amendment prior to
House consideration of the Act.
Subtitle B--Assistance to Support Democracy in Viet Nam
Section 211. Assistance. This section authorizes foreign
assistance (up to $2 million in each of fiscal years 2001,
2002, and 2003) to organizations committed to promoting human
rights and nonviolent democratic change in Viet Nam.
Subtitle C--United States Public Diplomacy
Section 221. Radio Free Asia Transmissions to Viet Nam. This
section declares it to be the policy of the United States to
take such measures as are necessary to overcome the jamming of
Radio Free Asia by the government of Viet Nam. It authorizes a
one-time expenditure of $9.1 million for fiscal year 2002 for
enhanced transmission facilities and other measures to overcome
the jamming, as well as $1.1 million for fiscal year 2003 for
the ongoing expenses of operating and maintaining these
facilities and other measures to overcome the jamming.
Section 222. United States Educational and Cultural Exchange
Programs with Viet Nam. This section requires the State
Department to take steps to promote participation in U.S.
cultural and exchange programs with Viet Nam by people from a
wide range of occupations and perspectives, including those who
share our commitment to freedom and democracy, rather than just
to Vietnamese government and Communist Party officials and
persons close to such officials.
Subtitle D--United States Refugee Policy.
Section 232. This section declares it to be the policy of the
United States to offer refugee resettlement to residents of
Viet Nam who met the statutory criteria for the Orderly
Departure Program and other U.S. refugee programs, but who were
incorrectly deemed ineligible for such programs or who, for
reasons beyond their own control including but not limited to
inability to pay bribes demanded by Vietnamese government
officials, were unable to gain access to U.S. programs in time
for deadlines imposed by State Department officials. The
section authorizes such sums as are necessary out of funds
authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State for
Migration and Refugee Assistance for the protection (including
resettlement in appropriate cases) of Vietnamese refugees and
asylum seekers, including the Montagnard refugees currently in
Cambodia. This section does not create new eligibility for
refugee programs or mandate that any particular person or group
be admitted to the United States. Rather, it reiterates the
principles upon which our in-country refugee programs in Viet
Nam were founded, and reaffirms the policy of the United States
to administer the programs in conformity with these principles.
Subtitle E--Annual Report on Progress Toward Freedom and Democracy in
Viet Nam
Section 241. Annual Report. This section requires that not
later than May 31 of each year, the Secretary of State shall
submit a report to Congress on the extent of compliance by the
Government of Viet Nam with the human rights benchmarks
provided by the Act, as well as efforts by the Department of
State and other United States Government agencies to discharge
their responsibilities under the Act. The report provided by
this section shall include: (1) the determinations and
certifications of the President under section 201 with respect
to whether the Government of Viet Nam has made substantial
progress during the previous 12 months toward compliance with
the four human rights benchmarks set forth in that section; (2)
the status of efforts by the United States Government to secure
transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in countries near Viet
Nam; steps taken by the United States Government to promote
participation in United States programs of educational and
cultural exchange with Viet Nam by persons from a wide range of
occupations and perspectives, as provided in section 222 of
this Act and in section 102 of the Human Rights, Refugee, and
Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act of 1996; and steps taken to
provide persons wrongly excluded from United States refugee
programs in Viet Nam with access to U.S. refugee resettlement,
as provided in section 232 of this Act.
New Advisory Committees
H.R. 2368 does not establish or authorize any new advisory
committees.
Congressional Accountability Act
H.R. 2368 does not apply to the legislative branch.
Federal Mandates
H.R. 2368 provides no Federal mandates.